Plastic traveler



Aug. 17, 1943., w, @AMP 2,326,834

PLASTIC TRAVELER Filed March 31 1942 ACRYL/C POLY/75R ACRYL/C POL Y/VE'R A CRYL/c POL YMEA zwj 14c)? YL/C P04 Y/VER I INVENTOR. M/M/mm N. Camp 4 f r v 4 Patented Aug. 17, 1943 PLASTIC TRAVELER William M. Camp, Glen Ridge, N. 3., assignor to The Clark Thread Company, Newark, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 31, 1942, Serial No. 437,044

3 Claims.

case of twisting where the drag on the traveler i heavy it is necessary to provide lubrication be tween the traveler and the ring, this taking the form of an oil or grease. Even under conditions of good lubrication, wear takes place on the traveler and also on the ring and the fine particles of metal which are worn off become embedded in the grease and are subsequently oxidized and thus form visible stains on the yarns or threads. These stains consist of oxides, carbonates, soaps, etc., of the respective traveler and ring metals, and are very difficult to remove in the ordinary processes of kier-boiling and bleaching.

Many attempts have been made to make travelers of materials, other than steel and bronze, using materials including hard rubber and glass. These materials, however, have not been satisfactory because of their brittleness and poor resistance against wear.

It is an object of this invention to provide a traveler possessing properties which have long been sought, including the following:

1. A longer life than steel or bronze travelers.

2. Requiring less lubrication than steel or bronze travelers or no lubrication.

3. Producing little or no wear on the steel ring and therefore obviating the contamination of the yarn or thread referred to above.

4. Corrosion resistance, to avoid corrosion in wet twisting.

The invention will be further described by refare made from the polymers of esters of methyl acrylic acid. The preferred species of ester is the methyl ester.

The details of preparing the above mentioned polymers, including the use of various plasticizers, and the control of the degree of polymerization are subject to considerable variation and may be varied, in the light of this invention, to secure polymers adapted to meet the preferred criteria of this invention. These are, briefly, a combination of resiliency, toughness, shock resistance, abrasion resistance and corrosion resistance. Resiliency is required because the jaws of the traveler are usually sprung apart in mounting it on the ring. Toughness and impact, or shock resistance, are required to avoid undue breakage. Abrasion resistance is desired to avoid undue wear. Corrosion resistance is desired to avoid corrosion in wet twisting.

Having obtained the acrylic polymer possessing the desired properties, the traveler is made therefrom by molding from molding material or machining from extruded or otherwise preformed stock. No details as to the structural form of the traveler are necessary, since the various shapes and forms of travelers are well known. Nor need any details of molding, machining or extruding be given since the art of molding, machining and extruding polymers of acrylic acid and its derivatives is well known.

However, in some cases, it may be desired to provide a traveler having a metallic core and a wearing surface comprising or composed essentially of a polymer of acrylic acid esters as above described. This may be done, for example, by

using a steel or alloy core or insert and molding the acrylic polymer composition around said core so that the latter is embedded in the resulting molded product.

The term "acrylic polymer as herein used means a polymer of an ester of acrylic acid or methyl acrylic acid. 

